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Mason Automotive on the corner of Cambridge Street and Tyne Street is one of many local businesses open to the public now that we are in Alert Level 3.

Open for contactless service that is. This essentially means booking people in by phone or email and keeping the workload a bit lighter.

"It has not been overly busy, which we are pleased about as everything takes a bit longer," said owner Jo Mason. "One of our usual services, that of dropping people home while work is done, has had to cease. "Luckily we have had nice weather for those people who have chosen to wait and have to do so outside.

"We have to take care with hygiene and manage contactless paying. The eftpos machine is now available to customers, without the need for them to come into the office. We are keeping a contact and tracing register for all staff and for anyone coming to the business.

"We have many loyal customers and we have been so happy to see their faces even from a distance, Mason said.

"We are encouraging people to keep their car efficiently motoring even if they are not using it as regularly. This means starting it up for about 15 minutes at a time, a couple of times a week and thus keeping the life in the battery.

"As the cold weather season approaches flat or sluggish batteries will become even more of an issue. So far we haven't had any issue with part supply but we do carry a good range in stock and have good access to battery supply."